The decent into the depths of winder calls for some plans for entertaining friends indoors. You have the drinks at the ready and the music on in the background. But what better to add than a party game that's not Monopoly. Here are a few of the top android games to keep your guests happy whether at a housewarming, birthday party or just an impromptu get together.

Bounden

This is a dancing game that works by using your smartphone's motion sensors. Great for multiplayer use with more than one phone, it's designed so that each device is used with a partner. Holding one side each, guide an onscreen sphere through a path of rings by tilting the screen. Programmed with classical music designed with dance in mind, and coming with seven dances devised by the Dutch National Ballet, you'll find yourself undulating your arms, winding your form, till you're dancing!

Heads Up!

A charades - style game with a themed deck of charades cards. If you're the one guessing, hold your phone up to your forehead and the word shown will have to be acted out by your friends for you to guess. Extra in-app purchases mean you can customise your cards decks.

Who Can't Draw?

A fun challenging game where each player is tasked with a word that they must then attempt to draw. The phone or android device has to be passed from player to player, and each must attempt to copy the drawing they were just passed. You get fifteen seconds. At the last player, you guess the original word. Kind of reminds us of a sketch version of Chinese whispers.

Ticket To Ride

Suitable for play with up to five people, everybody can either have the app on their own phones to participate, or use one device to opt for the pass and play feature. This is a great design of the train based board game where card dealing and piece-handling is done digitally making for easy setup. In-app purchases allow you to unlock other game boards too.

Lucky Nugget Casino

A casino mobile app that allows you to host a casino themed party in your own home and either bring the glamour of a real venue to your house party, or let you try out some slots and classic card games for the chance of real wins, before you hit a casino in the real world.

Smartphone technology has single-handedly transformed a range of industries and the way we do things in a lot of areas within such a short space of time.
In this aspect, the mobile and gambling industry is no different, with mobile phones actually helping to save the sector as well as being a big part of its future and prosperity. There are a number of ways that smartphones have brought about changes to online gaming as the industry has willingly embraced the innovative platforms, helping to increase the amount of players and operators' revenue.

With that in mind, in this post we shall take a closer look at 3 ways smartphones have changed the gambling industry.

Easier Access and Greater Convenience

The Internet opened new avenues for gambling providers to reach their existing customers as well as millions of potential new ones. The advent of smartphones meant that each mobile user was now a potential customer, even if it were only for free to play games.
Nowadays, online games such as bingo and other casino and gambling games are amongst the most popular and with new players coming on board all the time. In this case resources such as bingosites.uk guides to playing bingo help new players to acclimatise and find the games they prefer and are good at. The easier access and convenience provided by smartphones also means that all the information players need is always only a tap away.

Internet connected mobile phones therefore helped to bring easier access and greater convenience to anyone interested in playing casino games or online gambling. This is one of the biggest reasons behind the growth and popularity of mobile games and gambling.

A Wider Variety of Games

Another benefit that smartphones have brought to the gambling industry is the ability to offer a wider variety of games for players to choose from. From digital versions of traditional games such as blackjack, roulette, or bingo, titles with different themes and game play are also now available. Gambling operators can now offer a wider range of games than they could ever do at any one time in physical locations. This is another reason behind the growth in the numbers of people who take part in mobile gambling, as there are games to suit all tastes and abilities.

A More Social Experience

As contradictory as it may sound, smartphones have actually helped to make gambling a more social experience for players. Even though footfall may have fallen in general at physical casinos, mobile phones are able to bring like-minded people together faster, and easier. With both social media sites and gambling games based on the same platforms, it easier to share your interests and favourite games with your friends or even the rest of the world if you wish.
This social involvement and the points mentioned above have fuelled a growth in gambling tourism, resulting in an increase in players visiting real world casino again.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the three points above show how much of an impact smartphones have had on the gambling industry to become one of its biggest drivers of growth in user numbers and revenue. With innovations coming fast and the sector always keen to embrace new technologies, the future of the two seem intertwined for now.

Compared to five years ago, mobile devices, smartphones and tablets are no longer emerging ideas in the technology community. In fact, they are now considered far less as luxury items and way more as an ingrained part of everyday life.

The number of smartphone users in the United States is expected to reach 223 million by the end of 2017, along with a total in excess of 2 billion worldwide users within the same timeframe. With more people than ever using mobile devices to pay for goods and services, and to deposit and transfer money in a number of ways, we need to talk about security and convenience.

Here's our rundown of three key areas in which mobile payment systems play a huge role, the best solutions out there and how they are currently serving their purpose.

iGaming

"online-poker-ranking-reliable" (CC BY 2.0) by Chingster23

It's no coincidence that the steady rise of the iGaming industry correlates with the growing popularity of mobile devices. From sports bookmakers to virtual poker rooms, many iGaming operators have already started to invest heavily in mobile apps and more secure payment systems that allow players to deposit, play and withdraw money at a moment's notice, wherever they are.

Review websites do a good job of rating and comparing the security and convenience of different canadian online casino payment systems, particularly those based in North America. The range of payment options these days is actually wider than ever, with many casino games offering players the choice between credit or debit card payments, or online payment systems such as Skrill that are typically known for a quicker withdrawal speed.

Small retailers and merchants

"freelancer" (CC BY 2.0) by abductit

Mobile technology has revolutionized the way in which small businesses can take payments for their goods or services. Whether you're a startup T-shirt vendor, a hairdresser or a freelancer, you're ultimately looking for a quick and secure way to bill your customers that is painless for all parties involved.

The two main mobile-friendly options at the moment are Paypal and Square. Paypal is the more well known of the two, and considered to be the industry standard for digital transactions. As well as being secure, it's also easy to create, send and receive invoices. That said, Square has become a key rival to PayPal's success and offers the nifty option to embed payment gateways directly onto a website, as well as slightly better rates for transactions (2.75% compared to Paypal's 3%). Decisions, decisions...

Personal mobile wallets 

"Google Wallet at Peet's" (CC BY 2.0) by kennejima

This is very likely going to play a big part in the future of mobile payment systems. While many of us are still getting used to contactless card payments, we're already well on our way to seeing systems like Android Pay, Google Wallet and Apple Pay becoming more and more established in the very near future.

The idea is that, instead of needing a wallet full of cards and cash (if only), all customers need to do is wave their smartphone at the till machine and it will be able to identify their bank account details through a respective Windows, Google or Apple account. At the minute the technology is in its infancy, relatively speaking, and supported by a limited number of merchants on a limited number of devices. However, we definitely expect that number to expand rapidly in years to come. Watch this space!

All of these areas considered, it's clear that mobile payment systems are at a more sophisticated and secure level than they have ever been before.

Whether you're a keen iGamer looking to withdraw quickly and securely from a mobile casino, a budding startup looking to set up a clear transaction process for your products, or even just a regular Joe who likes to keep an eye on the next phase of technology, the landscape of mobile payment options has never been richer. And, in the grand scheme of things, things are only just getting started.

  

The average number of people using their mobile phones to browse the Internet has skyrocketed throughout this decade. What was a costly and fiddly process on the WAP-enabled button phones of the early 21st century is now a fully integrated part of daily life.

The smartphone boom has resulted in the vast majority of people carrying devices in their pockets and bags that are capable of finding and collecting information, playing videos, music and games, and much more.

Businesses in every industry are always looking to make sure that they are doing all they can to put themselves on that handheld screen as much as possible.

It is therefore no big surprise that many online casino websites have invested heavily into making their sites as mobile-friendly as they could possibly be, and the result is people playing casino games on their mobile phones a whole lot more often.

Why so much focus on mobile?

2016 was the year of the ‘mobile first Internet' - the year that mobile searches finally surpassed desktop searches on the search engine powerhouse, Google.

In response to this, Google increased its efforts to ensure that sites which rank well in their search results offer an equally good user experience, whichever device the user happens to be using to access the page.

To this end, since the second half of 2016 Google has been pushing mobile responsive sites ever higher in rankings, offering a tantalising incentive to those web developers who have yet to take the plunge into mobile offering.

The shift from Flash to HTML5

One of the biggest driving forces behind the massive growth in popularity of using mobile phones to browse the Internet is the emergence of HTML5 as the engine behind website content.

Its predecessor, Adobe Flash, was completely eschewed by Apple due to a combination of factors including disagreements between creators as well as security concerns. This meant that iPhone, iPad and iPod users - a huge chunk of the Internet's browsing audience - were all unable to access Flash content. Flash enabled websites to offer a great deal of functionality in the 21st century, but over time more and more exploits were found and well, exploited.

As well as being completely unsupported on iPhone, it was often incompatible with Android phones. With more and more people wanting to access the content on their mobiles, something had to change, and HTML5 came into prominence early in the 2010s.

It is debatable whether the shift from Flash to HTML5 was the cause or the effect of increased mobile browsing - but it is clear that the Internet overall has been moving in the direction of increased mobile-friendliness for several years now.

Major developments from Netent

As one of the main game developers for online casinos, NetEnt have naturally been the trailblazers when it comes to providing games which look as brilliant on mobile phones as they do on desktops.

NetEnt Touch® is the brand of games produced by NetEnt for the mobile market. They work on both iOS and Android devices, and the portfolio of games offered is absolutely massive. Slots, Blackjack, Roulette, Bingo, and lots more are on the menu, all coming complete with superb graphics, and enhanced experience optimised for mobile users.

In-Browser Casinos vs Casino Applications

Playing a game in your mobile phone's browser is convenient as it prevents you from needing to download an application which will take time to do as well as occupy space on your phone. Anybody with a 16GB iPhone will know only too well the constant battle to keep storage space free.

However, if it is a game that you play regularly, or one where progress needs to be saved, applications come into their own. It may take slightly longer to download it in the first place, but once you have, it's there all the time and loads in a matter of seconds, with your progress and preferences to boot. What is more, you may be able to play the game even when away from an Internet connection.

As far as the mobile casino trend goes, the browser version is still useful for ascertaining how much you enjoy playing at that particular online casino. Online casino developers have gone to great lengths to ensure that their games can be played on any device, so whether you decide to go for the app or the website, you're sure to be satisfied.

Mobile games are an integral part of our everyday lives today. With more than 2 billion smartphone users, there is a massive player base behind them - no wonder mobile has become the most used (and most profitable) gaming platform of the world. The top games come and go - titles like Pokemon Go, Clash of Clans, and similar ones, briefly take over the top spot in the list of the most used apps of the world. There is a game type, though, that is constantly in the top 10, with millions choosing its casual fun day after day: slot machines. In the US, they are played socially, while in the rest of the world, players can choose between social versions and the real thing, offered by the Royal Vegas Canada (among many others).

With millions choosing to spin the reels all over the world, slot machines are clearly among the most played casual games at a global scale. Let's see which were the Top 5 Most Popular Slots for October.

5. Dragon Dance

The Dragon Dance is a very popular street spectacle in China - an integral part of many major festivals. To make every day a celebration, the Royal Vegas has brought forth the Dragon Dance slot machine this February, as a way to greet the Chinese New Year. The game is not only popular around this holiday, though - this October, it was the fifth most played game at the casino.

4. Shanghai Beauty

A new addition to the Royal Vegas game library, Shanghai Beauty takes its players on a trip into the sophisticated, elegant world of Asia. While the game doesn't have many bonus features, its combination of relaxing music and exciting action has turned it into a favorite last month.

3. Mega Moolah

While the game itself is fun to play, most Mega Moolah players choose it for its big win. It's the game with the most generous jackpot at the Royal Vegas - it pays out millions to its luckiest fans several times a year. This jungle-themed slot machine was the third most played game here this October.

2. Bar Bar Black Sheep

A game based on a popular nursery rhyme, Bar Bar Black Sheep has more than just a cute look and a soothing music. Its reels are filled with farm-related symbols, along with a BAR symbol borrowed from the classic Vegas slot machines. Two BARs, coupled with a Black Sheep symbol, trigger the game's generous bonus, paying out up to 999 times the triggering bet.

1. Lost Vegas

With Halloween coming, Royal Vegas players seemed to have found their taste for horror. Lost Vegas was the perfect game for them - it took them on a trip to a zombie-ridden Las Vegas, allowing them to join the Survivors or the Zombies in their quest for unimaginable riches.